Day 13, May 2, 2014

Today was another good day.  Only a couple miles over a hundred, mid 18 mph range; still saving the legs and stamina for Sunday's 140+ mile ride.  Sunny skies and cool temperatures to start.  Left the hotel with cold weather gear, but by the lunch stop at 65 miles, stripped down to short sleeve jersey and bare legs.  East Texas was more hospitable than west Texas, we saw deciduous trees and green fields.  We also saw a lot of recent oil and gas drilling and fracking operations, a sign that the domestic energy exploration is on the upswing.  Interestingly, as we approached the Texas-Oklahoma border, the landscape in Texas was all oil & gas, but in the Oklahoma distance, the skyline was dotted with giant wind turbines.  We crossed into Oklahoma at about the half-way point.  They say, everything in Texas is big.  That holds true for the road shoulders.  We could easily ride 4 abreast along the two lane highway.  As soon as we crossed into Oklahoma, the shoulder became non-existent.   For virtually 50 miles from the boarder to Elk City, the wind turbines were everywhere.  We were told by a bar tender tonight that the government pays a landowner $8,000.00/month for each turbine on his property.  (I'll leave it to some fact checker to verify the veracity of that statement, I for one call; "Bull Shit").

  No flats in our foursome group, no accidents, no close calls, no angry motorists, no headwind, no precipitation, just a good day to be on a bike exploring new lands.  Jere did get into an argument with a jackass.  We must of scared it and it started braying at us, so Jere had to bray back.

  Tomorrow's run is a 109 mile eastward jaunt to Chickasha, Ok.  At about the 50 mile point, we'll stop for a picture at our 1/2 way point across the U.S.   Weather forecast continues to look good.